Trying to hack a good night’s sleep

Quality of sleep is not something to be taken lightly, and yet so many geeks …

If there's one thing that many techies have in common, it's some form of insomnia. Whether it's because you can't fall asleep easily, you wake up too early, or you keep waking up throughout the night, not getting a good night's sleep can seriously affect your health and productivity.

From a personal perspective, staff members here at Ars (myself included) have had trouble sleeping for many years. We run the gamut from full-on CPAP machine users, to over-the-counter and prescription medicators, to new-agey meditators, and more. And now, some of us have become gadget experimenters.

Aside from the obvious advice—"go see a doctor, you freaking tool," as forum-goers would say—we wouldn't be geeks if we didn't investigate the various technological solutions that claim to help improve our sleep cycles. Some only track the quality of your sleep, while others actually try to make it better, but we thought we'd give a rundown of what's available to try and hack a good night's sleep.

Tracking

There are a number of gadgets available that help you track how well (or poorly, as the case may be) you sleep at night. They all generally follow the same methods—you usually have to attach something to your wrist or clothing that will track the frequency and severity of your movements throughout the night. Then, you can see how many times you're waking up and attempt to adjust other things in hopes of fixing the problem.

The fitbit doesn't just track your sleep—it also tracks your physical activity. It's a tiny clip about the size of a third-gen iPod shuffle that clips onto your clothing and, if you're using it to follow your sleep patterns, will record how often you move during the night. The company claims on its FAQ page that "sleep data from the Tracker correlates very strongly with results from polysomnograms found in sleep labs," and the device will transmit your data wirelessly to both a Mac or PC. (Unfortunately, the fitbit's official release has been pushed back several times and it's not yet available.)

Similarly, sleep monitoring watches such as the SleepTracker Pro follow your nocturnal movements in the same way. However, this watch (and many others like it) also has an added feature: it will wake you up in the morning at what it considers to be the most optimal time in your sleep cycle. It determines this by the frequency of your waking periods towards the end of your sleep and determining a window of time when you should wake up, based around a "no later than this" time that you set.

The most expensive of these options, the aXbo "sleep phase alarm clock" does exactly the same thing as the other two combined, but does so wirelessly and can track two people at once. Both individuals (or just one if you're flying solo) must wear a soft armband that will transmit signals to the alarm clock across the room. The clock can gather data over a period of days and you can download it to your Mac or PC via USB. From there, you can view your individual sleep graphs. And, like the sleep monitoring watch, the aXbo lets you set a time to wake up and then wakes you up at the most optimal time for you within that window.

I have used the aXbo myself, but found it to be somewhat of a let-down. The alarm clock itself is very difficult to use without the help of its manual (and even with the manual, it wasn't exactly easy). It did, however, track my sleep movements very well. The feature that wakes you up at the "appropriate" time is easy to game, though—when you know it'll wake you up within a certain window if you're moving around too much, you learn to stay incredibly still to avoid setting the alarm off. Your mileage may vary.

Improving

So you already know you sleep like crap—what can you do to make it better? Again, there are a number of things you can try, but beware that without a doctor's diagnosis, there's no guarantee that all of them (or any of them, for that matter) will work for you. If you're looking for excuses to try out new gadgets and software, however, we suppose there's no better excuse than your sleep health.

One of the most well-known (non-medicated, anyway) methods of improving sleep is to use pzizz, a piece of software for both Mac and Windows that takes the concept of a "relaxation CD" to the next level. It pieces together unique audio soundtracks that help you to nap during the day or get to sleep at night with a mixture of voice, music, and other sound effects for every single time you use it. Theoretically, this means that your brain will never get used to the same sounds over and over. But that's not all pzizz does—the soundtracks contain inaudible "binaural beats" that supposedly stimulate a particular range of brainwave frequency to be more conducive to sleep. If it all sounds a bit new-agey to you, you can try out pzizz for free before laying down any cash.

I gave pzizz a try for roughly a week, testing out the sleep files (I don't take naps, so I didn't try the nap ones). The software is easy to use and, if you're on a Mac anyway, the files will import directly into iTunes so they can sync with your iPod. I found the audio files to indeed be soothing and falling asleep was very easy—then again, staying asleep tends to be my problem moreso than falling asleep. When you're creating the file on your computer, you can make it almost any length of time, though a minimum of 20 minutes is recommended. If you have trouble falling asleep, it's definitely worth a shot.

Another way to relieve stress and fall asleep is to try an acupressure band, like the Sleeping Aid Dreamate. Bands like this claim to massage acupoints—such as the "sleeping Golden Triangle"—in your wrists. Supposedly, this will enable to you to relax to the point of getting deeper and longer sleep without having to rely on medication.

Finally, you could try the DaVinci sleep schedule (also known as polyphasic sleep). This isn't so much a gadget as it is a method that involves sleeping in 10- or 20-minute bursts throughout the entire day. Supposedly, building up to a schedule like this allows people to sleep between two and five hours a day—much less than the typical person—and feel energized for longer. Proponents of polyphasic sleep say that this pattern mimics the sleeping pattern of infants and the body's natural sleep rhythms. Of course, the downsides to this are that you have to actually be able to nap frequently throughout the day, it practically destroys your social life, it's difficult to adjust to, and you can screw up your entire schedule by missing even one nap. However, if you're desperate to stay awake for almost 22 hours a day and try something new, have at it.

Are these things enough to turn you from an insomniac to a well-rested person? Maybe, and maybe not. Some of us at the Orbiting HQ have severe enough sleep issues that a sleep study and a CPAP machine are the only solutions (and believe us, if you have sleep apnea, it definitely helps). But if you have some time on your hands and some cash to burn, these solutions could be worth a little experimentation.

78 Reader Comments

I'll bet a lot of it has to do with a gluttony for waking life. Waking life can be like an endless buffet and it's hard to stop. While some people relish sleep, for others it's more like a chore. I believe a lot of these problems simply have self-inflicted roots. Staring into the computer screen until 2am certainly doesn't help. When I backpack in the mountains and 10 PM rolls around, there's nothing else to do but sleep (and it is amazing sleep).

But I've found that cutting my caffeine intake significantly reduces my likelihood to be buzzed until dawn or 2am. While I may sometimes become tired at midnight even with caffeine, I find it's usually due to exhaustion, and my quality of sleep is terrible. But, yeah, after I've cut my caffeine intake my quality of sleep has become a lot better. Even still, my sleep schedule tends to be rather cyclical.

I still find it difficult to sleep if I'm really into something, like a game, a book, or fixing/developing something. Can't say losing sleep for those endeavors really bothers me, though.

Thanks for doing an article on this. It was a pleasant surprise, and it's given me a couple new things to check out. I've had sleep troubles my entire life, and anything that might help is of interest.

So, thanks!

Also, a question about the clock/motion monitor you tried-- Are you saying you 'sorta' woke up, and then knew you had to hold still to get more time, or that you subconciously knew you had to hold still before you went to bed, and managed to do so?

Quit drinking caffeine. Seriously. You might think you're used to it or immune to it, or that you can't live without it. You'd be surprised to find out what life is like when you don't drink it at all. You can wake up just fine and not feel groggy. You can fall asleep easily and sleep soundly. It's amazing and simple. BTW, Starbucks has decaf (though not for the Chai Tea).

For me, the times I tend to stay awake too late (which is the crux of my insomnia) are when I'm stressed about the next day, don't want to wake up tomorow and want to prolong the day before. I know it's completely stupid and I'm aware of it but it is what it is. Either taking a decision or telling myself that I'll get to it in time tomorow and getting good sleep is my current way of dealing with it.

For those who really want to tackle their insomnia, I suggest a Cognitive behavior Therapy inspired plan. Toys and gimmicks, unfortunatly might hinder the solution to the problem. That last "solution" especially; naping is not good and should be avaoided as much as possible.

This is a well researched article for people who are looking to improve their sleeping pattern. It's filled with references to actual research, you know, like a regular article from Ars would be when appropriate.

Sleep is not unscientific, it's human behaviour whose purpose it is to optimize the brains memory. There's no trick to it other than staying healthy, making sure to get lots of bright light just after you wake up, only going to sleep when you're tired, and throwing away the alarm clock.The fact that this type of behaviour is not socially acceptable doesn't change anything; it's still the only proven method.

These...gimmicks are similar to trying to fix your sleeping problems with homeopathy by diluting caffeine or somesuch. It doesn't work, and any effect is purely a matter of placebo...which I've probably just ruined with this post, so there.

Sleep deprivation not only compromises your ability to think clearly and function effectively, but can endanger your health in many ways.

There is one sleep solution that is backed up with solid science and doesn't introduce drugs or anything else into your system. Visit www.lifewave.com/ohmywellness and watch some of the videos about nanotechnology patches. The research came out of a Navy Seal mini-sub program in which they were trying to improve survivability, which meant increasing the energy available to the Seal teams, who couldn't exercise in the tight confines of a mini-sub, and aren't allowed to use stimulants.

The approach is to combine 500-year-old Chinese acupressure with a 21st-century nanotechnology delivery system. The patches are not trans-dermal. They don't introduce any substance into your body. Placed on acupressure points and activated by the infrared heat of your skin, they act as wireless communicators, sending information to your body to do what it already does, only better.

One of their functions is to tell the pineal gland to produce more melatonin, which is your body's natural sleep agent. It takes you to Stage 4 Delta sleep very quickly, and allows you to return to sleep quickly, e.g., if you get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, instead of laying there afterward listening to all your thoughts buzz in your brain.

It's also important to sleep in a fully darkened room to stop cortisol production, a hormone whose job is to react to light and tell your brain to wake up (presumably in the morning). Get some blackout drapes. Even the light from clock radios or stereos stimulates cortisol production, so try a sleep mask, too.

There are five different patches which, besides sleep ("Silent Nights") serve four other functions: Pain relief ("IceWave"); Anti-Aging ("Y-Age" - stimulates production of glutathione and carnosine, your body's master anti-oxidants); Weight Control ("SP6"); and Energy Enhancement (burns 22% more fat as fuel to produce more energy). We've been using these since Feb and have seen dramatic results, but don't take anyone's word for it. Examine the science yourself and make your own judgment.

(Full disclosure: My knowledge of this is not arms-length. My girlfriend, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of wellness, accumulated over the past 30 years, is a LifeWave distributor.)

Reduction of caffeine intake is quite essential as far as common sense guidelines go, along with prodigious exercise (backpacking in the mountains is a good one!)and moderation in alcohol, sugar and general junk food intake.

However, if one adhered to such restrictions, then one could hardly be a practitioner of a "geek" lifestyle. For those individuals, I recommend Xanax.

Hey, wake up with chemicals, sleep with chemicals, we have a pharmaceutical industry to support, you know.

They're great for relaxation. If you've the patience, it's a welcome trip to eternal drift, wrapped in nothing... like drifting through breathable starless space. Instant meditation, instant relaxation. With neutral float position, blood flow is encouraged to muscles, which relax, correcting skeletal position and further enhancing blood flow for repair and oxygenation.

I've emerged from two hour floats feeling as relaxed as if I had been on a 2 week vacation. Nothing like nothing to reveal everything.

It's a bit much to do nightly... both the salt and intense isolation would have effects. It's a great way to relax when stressed and I can't recommend it enough. Tanks are a rare and beautiful thing.

/tried the DaVinci once, didn't make it more than a week. So very tired and so very confused. Was like prolonged jetlag. It's supposed to get easier after the first week. Not easy to interact with others on that sched, either.

I tried polyphasic sleeping (DaVinci cycle) for about six months and couldn't honestly recommend it. While I was effective at work, keeping to the schedule and maintaining a social life were very difficult.

I also met people during that time that I have no recollection of now (having met them again since), and in retrospect I can see my mood/emotional responses were heavily compromised.

That's just my experience with it, but if you're gonna go that way be careful doing it.

Not sure about getting great sleep, but there's a great trick to getting to sleep if you're having trouble getting started: read the same encyclopedia article every night.

I know... yes... boring. But it works (for me and mine, anyways). For years, if I was having trouble getting to sleep as a kid, my parents (who got the trick from my grandad) would read me the Compton's Encyclopedia article on butterflies. At first, it would take 2 or 3 readings to get me over. Eventually, just cracking that damned book would make me pass out from incipient boredom.

I read the Wikipedia article on the history of Rome to my son off my smart phone. Same same.

Originally posted by tlhIngan:Alas... I think I've got the opposite problem.

I sleep fine, but I don't sleep enough - there's just too much stuff to do in a day to even attempt to get 8 hours.

Life is just too busy with too many things to do and one's sleep is compromised simply because there's too few hours in a day.

Yep, I think that's the problem for most. You can't have a natural sleep cycle when the entirety of your life is based upon an un-natural society. Limited exposure to natural light, backwards eating times and customs, the dependence of technology and the ignoring of natural circadian rhythms and sleep cycles all leads to having a life that's totally and completely unnatural.

Technology is not the answer here. The answer is to do your best to unplug and get back to a natural life.

If you have breathing problems, I'd suggest getting a prescription steroid nasal spray. This really helps and is MUCH less-intruisive than using a CPAP machine. My doctor strongly advised NOT to use Afrin or similar over-the-counter nasal sprays as they cause other long-term problems.

BTW, this type of self-help is often better than seeing a doctor. If you need a prescription or a procedure or need a symptom diagnosed, doctors are great. But if you want to understand your own weird psychological sleeping issues, you're better off doing that yourself. Doctors really aren't trained to help with that kind of thing and aren't very helpful.

Are there so many mac compatable sleep aids because they have to stay up at night to justify thier overpriced purchases or are teh ars writers getting infected by the invisible disease that makes them desire osx?

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Originally posted by hubick:Despite all the caffeine I drink, I purchased a device that makes me sleep like a baby regardless!!

It's called a Mountain Bike.

You wake up screaming every few hours crying for a tit?

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Originally posted by Matvei:For those who really want to tackle their insomnia, I suggest a Cognitive behavior Therapy inspired plan. Toys and gimmicks, unfortunatly might hinder the solution to the problem. That last "solution" especially; naping is not good and should be avaoided as much as possible.

Originally posted by andyhavens:Not sure about getting great sleep, but there's a great trick to getting to sleep if you're having trouble getting started: read the same encyclopedia article every night.

I know... yes... boring. But it works (for me and mine, anyways). For years, if I was having trouble getting to sleep as a kid, my parents (who got the trick from my grandad) would read me the Compton's Encyclopedia article on butterflies. At first, it would take 2 or 3 readings to get me over. Eventually, just cracking that damned book would make me pass out from incipient boredom.Just a suggestion.

Alternatively, set the sleep timer on your tv (most have them) then start watching nascar, watching fugly cars turn left is like counting sheep, but with teh advantage that no brain is required.

It should be pointed out that (at least as far as I can determine) binaural beats and acupressure have no useful studies showing any effects above those of a placebo. It's pure BS, and supporting the companies who make money by selling snake oil to the gullible just seems wrong.

Having said that, sleep problems are probably the kinds of problems where placebos might be quite effective.

you forgot to mention a more serious device, zeo (http://www.myzeo.com.) you wear a headband which transmit wirelessly your brainwave patterns to an "alarm clock" by your bed stand with an SD memory card. you can remove the SD card and upload that data to their web site. you can see your sleep patterns over time (awake, deep sleep, rem and light sleep) and they provide you with some sort of coaching (not particularly interesting, but i am not a terrible sleeper either)my sleep hasn't improve but it is the ultimate (pricey) geek gadget. i am not %100 sure the devices are publicly available (i was in a sort of beta program.)

I used to have big problems going to sleep back when I was at university. I eventually fixed it by following one simple rule for a few weeks:

Whenever you go to sleep, get up at the same time.

Yes, this meant rising at 6:30 on Saturdays. Naps are OK as long as they're short and you really do get up before "napping" again. You don't really need to follow this 100% as long as you TRY to follow it 100%. It's only for a few weeks, anyway - after that, your system is recalibrated and you can sleep in on weekends again, as long as you keep some sort of schedule on weekdays.

One can hack their sleep through chemistry too. But not in the way you're thinking. I cannot completely pin this down but I noticed a side effect of a supplement taken for a completely different purpose. Basically, I seem to sleep better taking bioflavonoid/rutin pills--essentially ground up citrus rinds. I will often phase in and out different classes of supplements based on new research or lack of effect considering cost, so I cannot be certain that this is the cause. But the materials are cheap. Try it.

I agree with Tejlgaard, this article is not written well at all. It contains little reference to scientific studies, or even any background information on the ideas presented. Prices were not listed for the items presented and one is not even available. That all ignores some good base ideas that must be implemented to make any sleep pattern changes work. Lower and preferably remove caffeine from your diet, go to bed before midnight, and rise at the same time every day. You may still need a gadget to help you fall asleep, but if it is playing at 2AM, it is still not going to help.

quote:

Reduction of caffeine intake is quite essential as far as common sense guidelines go, along with prodigious exercise (backpacking in the mountains is a good one!)and moderation in alcohol, sugar and general junk food intake.

However, if one adhered to such restrictions, then one could hardly be a practitioner of a "geek" lifestyle.

Bullshit. Next time you are going to tell me that I do not even work in IT since I only work 40 hours a week and do not upgrade my computer every 3 months! Instead of caffeine pills, I have nuts and dried fruit in my desk drawer. Water instead of caffeine. I play football instead of sitting on the computer all night long. All three help me get to bed around 10PM and wake up between 5 and 6am.

Originally posted by wallinbl:BTW, Starbucks has decaf (though not for the Chai Tea).

Not to burst your bubble, but decaf doesn't mean caffeine-free. Starbucks in particular are notorious for having a lot (relatively speaking, compared to other decafs) of caffeine in their decaf (but still less than their regular).

I was surprised how expensive that Pzizz app is. If you've got an iPhone, you'll find lots of binaural beats apps for £0-5.99 which have different degrees of customisability.

I've used them a couple of times and seemingly fallen asleep more quickly than usual. I don't know if that's the science in action or just that they make a relaxing sound. I can't testify for the drug-style serotonin release modes at all, but I'm a bit more skeptical about those!

I have to agree with a few of the above posters. Last year I stopped ingesting caffeine cold turkey. It's amazing how fast I can fall asleep now and how much easier it is to wake up. Granted, it makes my sleep schedule pretty static, even on nights when I want to be up until 2, but I would rather be well rested during the week than have one night of fun on the weekend.

And yeah, exhausting yourself with just a moderate workout does wonders as well.

From personal experience. I had chronic insomnia ever since I was an adolescent. I could fall asleep, but 10 minutes later I was awake. Caffeine wasn't an issue, I didn't start drinking coffee until I was 35 (strange-huh?). Exercise wasn't an issue, I used to live in the Alps and cycled up them regularly. I took care of myself nutrition-wise, and had all the bloods done to confirm that I was in top shape. But still I couldn't sleep.Most people who offer sleep advice have no experience of insomnia, and I wish they'd shut up cos they spout the same fallacies over and over.

So here's what worked for me: Read the Jacobson Method. It's very simple, and it takes about 5 minutes to grasp the concept. It was recommended to me by a very well respected doctor, and it worked from the very first time I tried it. The book takes about 30 minutes to read, and the results can be astonishing. Simply put, it's about learning to relax your muscles (not some airy-fairy meditation exercise, but an actual physical exercise that gives you feed-back to the tension in your body).

If you do have insomnia, you ought to get checked out for sleep apnea. But first the Jacobson method is free and easy to try. It has changed the quality of my sleeping life. The book is by Dr Edmund Jacobson and called "You Must Relax", and is available from all good bookstores and torrent trackers.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Jacobson